Plot: What’s it about?
Hollywood just won’t stop with the exorcism genre. We’re flooded with these types of films on a frequent basis. The Exorcism of Molly Hartleyis a sequel to 2008’s The Haunting of Molly Hartley. It’s been some years since I’ve seen that film, so I can’t provide direct comparisons, but I recall not hating the original film as much as I anticipated. The sequel, however, is another story all together. Molly (Sarah Lind) attends a party one night only to then become a murder suspect. She also still has a demon inside her. She’s placed into a mental institute where one priest (Devon Sawa) attempts to save her by an exorcism.
One can probably guess several of the events that happen over the course of the film. It’s getting to the point where if you’ve seen one exorcism film (save for the superior The Exorcist) then you’ve seen them all. I also understand that I’m doing this review so close to Halloween that some viewers will take a chance on this film simply for the time of year. I’d strongly advise against that as there’s just so little here worth recommending. As I mentioned, I didn’t hate the original like I anticipated, so that would be a more rewarding experience than this. Still, with so many classic horror films circulating around various networks, I’d just say watch one of those rather than this mess of a film. The scares are few and far between and there’s just not much of a story to invest in. If anything, the film moves at too slow a pace for me to becomes terribly invested. It’s one of those horror films that relies on loud noises and jump scares to try and be effective. It fails.
Video: How’s it look?
This is one of those films that you can pretty much tell the theme and tone of it (physically) from the opening scenes. The 1.78:1 AVC HD image looks good, by and large, but the somewhat institutionalized look and feel of it give it a very bland and flat look. I was reminded of Saw where, under the neon lights, everything had a sickly greenish tint to it. That’s the case here. While there is razor sharp detail, it just looks a bit tired and I really couldn’t get into it. It’s not bad by any means, but there are certainly better-looking new to Blu-ray films out there.
Audio: How’s it sound?
I think somewhere there’s a handbook that says “it’s a horror movie, so it’s got to have parts that use sound to scare the audience.” Or not, I don’t know. Still, the included DTS HD Master Audio sound mix isn’t bad by any stretch, but it’s just somewhat predictable with the “startle” sounds and some different-sounding ambient effects. I mean, do we really need green puke in surround sound? Didn’t think so.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Exorcism: Beyond One Truth – This is actually quite an engaging little featurette, running at 20 minutes I enjoyed it.
- Cloverdale Institute: Classified Security Camera Footage – I think the title says it all.
- Director Diaries – Kind of a “day on the set” sort of feature. Nothing too interesting.
The Bottom Line
I’m guessing very few remember the original film. Why anyone would greenlight a sequel is beyond me. I can’t recommend the film on any level. If you’re in the mood for some good fright whether it be for the season or in general, look elsewhere. There’s nothing to see here. Skip it.
